Passion/Palm Sunday
March 25, 2018
By Frank J. Hernando
Scripture text: Luke 19: 28-40
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
I woke up at 6:00 A.M. on Palm/Passion Sunday morning to go to my Children’s Sunday School service at PROK Kangnam Church in Kangseo-gu, Seoul. At eight I was out of the house and walked hurriedly to the bus stop near Hongdae subway station with a cool mist of the morning but only to know the fog was of high level of fine industrial dust that pollutes Seoul’s atmosphere. At the bus stop there were passengers waiting for their bus ride to Incheon airport and to other destinations in Seoul and the Gyeonggi Province. A woman cuddling her baby and standing beside her husband with two huge luggages were refused a ride in an airport limousine bus. But the other two single passengers were allowed on the bus. The bus driver was signalling an “x” sign with his hands. They might be travelling to Kimpo Airport and the bus will not pass by that way. I waited for mine, it was either bus 5712 or 604. I saw on the overhead digital screen that my buses come after 3-4 minutes. Bus 5712 came first. The 25 minutes bus ride was very routine every Sunday morning and the streets were not as animated as it would be on weekdays. There were no sounds of roosters’ crowing, nor the early morning sound of religious procession from a local catholic church, with a slow beating of drums in a processional march rhythm that is less symphonic to hear.
Domingo de Ramos or Palm Sunday is celebrated with display of young coconut palm tree branches with intricate designs by local artists and some are accented with colorful ribbon ties. It is just an ordinary Sunday morning in Seoul and most people were asleep until late in the morning, aside from those who need to go early morning Protestant services either at 7:00 or 9:00. Our Children’s worship started at 9:15 and after singing songs led by one of the teachers I gave my children’s sermon on Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. I did some revision and improvisation of the sermons4kids.com script. I introduced cheers and yells for Team Korea Winter Olympic medalists who were coming to town in a parade. The children joined in and participated well during the sermon.
The praises or cheers to Jesus as he rode on a donkey into Jerusalem was probably loud, when they shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” It was a spectacle for the onlookers and the unsuspecting residents of the city. But for those who have been anticipating a some kind of revolt, or perhaps a sort of “terrorist attack,” Jesus parade on the city streets could have awakened the anxiety of political and religious leaders at the center of Jewish religion and the center of control of the Roman empire in first century Palestine. In this parade, Jesus was acclaimed as “king” and in other Gospel texts, he is a king in the lineage of David. Of course Korean kids made an easy reference to their Korean monarchial history. Herod Antipas tetrarch of Judea and Perea was the ruler of the Jews under the control of the Roman empire.
This parade looks very spontaneous not just by the disciples but also by the grassroot people who were following Jesus’ teaching, preaching, healing ministries and exorcisms. The people exercised their basic freedom of assembly and of raising their own king, who is the opposite but greater than Herod Antipas. That assumption from the people was taken as rebellion and the leaders of this movement to overthrow the Jewish and Roman leaders in Judea, must be arrested and punished. But Jesus’ parade was about peace, not war. Hear what the people yelled, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Was peace in itself a threat? Or the absence of peace or shalom was the real threat to the people? I think it is the second. The absence of peace threatens the people’s wellbeing and prosperity.
Marcus J. Burg describes the socio-economic situation in which Jesus did his ministry stating that 90 percent of the people were peasants and 10 percent comprise the ruling elites. Meanwhile 66 percent of the wealth was concentrated in the hands of the ruling elite while only 33 percent was thinly scattered to the 90 percent. People who live in the present with similar circumstances with that of the people in the first century Palestine, would assume similar stances with those who were looking a peaceable king. They called him “king” and he came in the name of God. Well, Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor knew very well that this kind of mass action is a challenge to their power.
The peasants who joined the joyful entry of Jesus into Jerusalem did not hesitate to shout out and to claim their freedom to raise a peaceable king. They have overcome their fears and have given their time and resources to participating in a meaningful and purposeful program that will change their lives in the long term. However, members of the ruling elite saw and heard what the people were doing and the possible impact of their actions on the existing structures of economic and political relations in society. So in verse 39, Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” That means, tell them to stop because they are disturbing or rocking the social order. Jesus replied to them “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (v.40).
Tagalog version Luke 19: 39-40:
39 Sinabi naman sa kanya ng ilang Pariseong kasama ng karamihan, “Guro, patigilin nga po ninyo ang inyong mga alagad.”
40 Sumagot siya, “Sinasabi ko sa inyo, kapag tumahimik sila, ang mga bato na ang siyang sisigaw.”
Interestingly, at the point of harassment and political repression Jesus asserted the people’s right to speak out and to join their people’s movement for genuine social change. Can the stones cry out? The muted stones are the mass of peasants who have been left on their own and fend for themselves or survive just as lifeless stones on a dry river or weary roadside, will shout out for their release from bondage into freedom. They may silenced Jesus’ disciples because Jesus has command on them, but not the peasantry or those who have been silenced for long.
We are witnesses to how the masses of people in millions have toppled down a corrupt government in South Korea, or how the Filipino people have ended Marcos despotic regime, and other experiences of ordinary people and Christians committed to justice and peace who are sacrificing their life and limb so as to bring about genuine social change. Now the struggle for respect for human rights, peace and social justice continuous in the Philippines under the Duterte regime. The masses of people who are suffering cannot be repressed forever. For like the inanimate stones that the Jewish and Roman authorities in Jesus’ time believed to be trampled upon only have started to shout out and risen up. In the long run, Jesus entry into Jerusalem was not so much about Jesus’ personal triumph, but the triumph of God’s empowered people.
On the personal level, Jesus entry into Jerusalem is an invitation for every person regardless of social class or race to reconsider one’s perspective on peace. Personal and family economic and social security is not detached from the greater issues in society and the world and inversely as well. In the afternoon of Passion/Palm Sunday our cellphones sounded the emergency alarm that high level of concentration of fine dust particles will occur on Monday and the entire week. People in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province especially must wear face masks to protect their lungs from lethal impact of the industrial pollutants floating in the atmosphere.
Meanwhile the Korean people have very strong political stances on their erring political leaders, like former presidents Park Geun-Hye convicted of corruption while in office and Lee Myung-Bak being arraigned for corruption cases are right now both imprisoned and are facing long jail sentences ranging from 30 to 40 years. It is expected that people will also be strong willed in controlling environmental pollution by reducing the use of personal and family cars and use public transportation which are very convenient as well.
Incumbent President Moon Jae-In has been making unprecedented strides toward negotiations for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Inter-Korean exchange visits and dialogue has been going on since the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. He also sent the Director for National Security to Washington DC to invite US President Donald Trump for personal meeting and dialogue with DPRK Leader Kim Jung-Eun and it has been scheduled in May this year. All these will be triumphant when the masses of people will support these positive initiatives for lasting and sustainable peace and eventual reunification will take place. May God help us understand God’s will this Holy Week.+++
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